DEFENDING THEIR LAND: Singai landowners, including those on their hunting trip, pause to take a group photograph at an area already cleared by one of the companies. Granda is standing at centre.
Singai folk transcend political boundaries in their fight to keep oil palm plantation companies off their land
BAU: The Singai Bidayuh community is calling on the government to stop the encroachment by several companies into their native customary rights (NCR) land at Mount Singai.
Their spokesman Granda Aing said they had identified eight separate entities which had encroached into their NCR land between Sungai Kayan Putih and Sungai Kayan Merah in Sampadi Land District for oil palm plantation.
Two of them were understood to have been issued with provisional lease while the other six are operating without licence.
The total land area involved is approximately 15,000 acres.
“We have informed the relevant authorities of this encroachment, and we hope that action will be taken to put a stop to this encroachment against the Singai community,” he said to reporters prior to a briefing on the issue at the Singai Sports and Recreation Club at Kampung Sudoh, Singai near here yesterday.
He pointed out the claim of this area by the Singai community, comprising 12 villages with over 10,000 people, was indisputable as they had lived and worked on the land for many generations.
Granda explained that the locals call the area where they hunted and fished, as well as obtaining wood and other materials for their various farm implements, arts and handicrafts and ceremonial items ‘Pimuung’.
“The ‘Pimuung’ is similar to the Iban’s term of ‘Pemakai Menua’, but ours is more strict as we do not allow felling of trees in that area,” he explained.
Kampung Sudoh headman Joseph Ranger who also spoke at the briefing said the Singai people must be united irrespective of their political leanings to prevent the loss of their ancestral land.
Granda said the encroachment into this area by the companies had robbed the Singai people of their ancestral land, depriving them of the base of their culture, tradition and history as well as their source of livelihood.
“The encroachment also has serious environmental impact. Apart from the loss of the flora and fauna and its inherent biodiversity, it also affects the water catchment area, in particular Sungai Adis which passes through three Singai villages. The river not only provides them with clean water and fish, but is also a venue for recreation and tourism activities,” he said.
Granda revealed the land encroachment was noticed by the landowners middle of this year and since then they had encountered staff from the companies.
He also alleged some companies hired gangsters to intimidate them including throwing ‘Thunderflash’ bombs towards them during an incident in September.
“We have filed five police reports so far,” he said, adding they also heard of talks of a company being given a licence to quarry the nearby Mount Moi.
He added that the Singai landowners also met up with Jagoi landowners from Kampung Jugan, who are also affected, and they have reached agreement on land boundaries and also to cooperate to save their ancestral land.
More than 100 people comprising landowners and their family members attended the briefing. Also present were former diplomat Datuk John Tenewi Nuek and lawyer Dominique Ng.